Helendale is an unincorporated community located in the Victor Valley area of the Mojave Desert. It lies along historic Route 66, west of Interstate 15, between Barstow and Victorville.
In 1857, President James Buchanan appointed Edward Beale to survey and help establish a trade route along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Los Angeles. The survey included an experimental Army program that used camels instead of horses to survey the region. Known as the United States Camel Corps, the camels proved to be hardy and well suited to travel across the desert region. The camels were capable of surviving for days without water and could thrive on natural food sources as the wagon road was surveyed.
Beale’s work resulted in a popular trail that allowed new settlers to reach the High Desert and the valleys below. The United States Camel Corps was eventually abandoned by the Army due to rising costs and the Civil War. Beale later purchased some of the camels and kept them at his ranch in Fort Tejon.
In the 1880s, the Santa Fe Railroad constructed a watering station for locomotives along the old camel trail and named it Point of Rocks after a local landmark. In 1897, the station was renamed Helen in honor of the daughter of railroad executive Arthur G. Wells, and in 1918 it was renamed Helendale.
Beale’s original survey served as the foundation for Route 66, the Santa Fe Railway and Interstate 40. Route 66 was paved and officially opened in the area in 1926. The bridge by the Point of Rocks was built in 1933, which is still the bridge used to cross the Mojave River today.
In 1969, construction began on two manmade lakes, North Lake and South Lake, along with a resort community called Silver Lakes just outside of Helendale. Today, the name Helendale is used by the United States Postal Service, while Silver Lakes is used by the U.S. Census. The 2020 U.S. Census reported a population of 6,317 for Silver Lakes.
The information in this historical feature was originally part of a video series produced by the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk’s office.
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